The Badge
by Shiy
Summary: MWPP era. Written after OotP. A look into how Remus might've received the prefect badge.


**Warnings:** 1st HP fic, and a very dated one – it's written in _2004_. So, possible inaccurate grasp of characters and/or canon facts, though I've looked through and nothing seems to clash with the newer books terribly. Also unbeta-ed.  
**Date Started:** 8 Feb 2004, 12am  
**Dated Completed:** 8 Feb 2004, 3am

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_'Lupin was the good boy, he got the badge._' - Sirius Black, Order of the Phoenix

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remus Lupin was at the Potters when the yearly mail arrived. Unfortunately, he was not exactly present in the room when the owls arrived.

Which was why he was wary when he heard noise even before he pushed open the bedroom door. While noise was not unusual where James and Sirius were concerned, and usually have less cause for worry than if there were uncharacteristic silence-- the kind of silence before a storm-- before he entered a room, he was fairly sure James was cursing rather colorfully.

And there it was, Sirius' bark-like laughter.

Remus allowed himself a wry shake of the head, braced himself, and entered the room.

The other three were seated pretty much where he left them, and each looked up at his arrival. Sirius, sprawled easily against some cushions on the floor, gave him a glance filled with the twinkle that usually follows a good prank. Peter was seated cross-legged on the floor near James, and looked uncertain but was looking increasingly grateful at Remus' appearance. James, who was the only one standing-- practically towering over the seated Black, in fact--, just looked pissed.

All of which were fairly obvious signs that things were not good.

Remus had sighed inwardly and dutifully asked what had happened. At which cue James had snapped that a certain smartass had decided to send all the letters flying once they'd been released from the owl, and simultaneously hitting them with an invisibility charm, and another burst of wind for good measure.

Remus had no doubt that the reason James was so ruffled-- and why Sirius did it in the first place-- had something to do with the fact that James had been going on about expecting a reply from a certain Lily Evans for as long as his friends had been visiting. Since Evans' current opinion of James Potter rivalled that of a Pureblood towards a Mudblood, Remus and Sirius were slightly skeptical, but James had been so convinced. Remus hadn't saw this coming though, and he gave Sirius a reproachful look, which the black-haired boy simply grinned wider at.

"Remus!" Merlin, was James actually whining? "Tell that git to give those letters back!"

Patiently, "Sirius, give those letters back."

Sirius just looked at him, waggled his eyebrows, and husked in the voice that could kill many a witches in Hogwarts, and more, "You've got to do better than that, Moony."

Remus appeared to give it great thought while James groaned loudly behind him.

"Please?"

Sirius just stared at him for a moment in an almost reproachful manner, then blew him a raspberry.

Remus turned to James, "Sorry, Prongs. I tried."

James made a frustrated sound, threw more dirty looks at Sirius, who was looking more and more like a Cheshire cat by the moment, and moved to recover the letters on his own. Peter was already hurrying to help him. Remus, too, joined in. It was better than dealing with a grumping James. More importantly, he needed the booklist for the shopping tomorrow.

---

Ten minutes later, all they had reaped for their efforts were James' Hogwarts letter, which Remus discovered by virtue of his enhanced hearing when the letter-- they had to presume-- slipped unseen from-- they had to guess-- where it had lodged in between the clock and the wall, and Peter's, which James discovered by accidentally stepping on it where it was lying beside his half-packed Hogwarts trunk. James could counter the invisibility spell easily enough, but aiming the counter spell at a room as large as his renders the effort worthless anyway.

Having stomped about the floor of the entire room-- all of where he could reach and some where he couldn't, anyway-- and not stepped on anything else suspicious, James Potter was pretty much fed up and quite prepared to hex his best friend. Peter was already seated and petting the area around him half-heartedly. Remus thought he would join Peter soon. Only he was still missing his letter and although he shared Ancient Runes with James and Divination with both, neither James nor Peter had taken up Arithmancy. Well, there was Sirius, but seeing as he had sacrificed his own letter for the noble cause of tormenting James, he really had to find at least one of their letters first.

Seeing that the bespectacled boy was reaching for his wand and giving Sirius a particularly evil look-- the other boy didn't even stop twirling his wand but was certainly looking more alert--, Remus thought it was a good time to intervene.

"Maybe we could, you know," he thought quickly-- James was already turning to him, the disturbing glean still not faded from his eyes--, since drawing inspiration from the finding of Peter's letter didn't help... "Stir the room again, see if the letters will... well, reveal their own presence." he finished-- he thought rather lamely-- but the glean seemed to be going away from James' eyes, anyhow.

Moments later, James was at the doorway to the room, facing the others, while Peter hastened to close the last window, barely in time for the powerful gust of wind that burst through the room. Remus wryly suspected James intended for Sirius to be blown away as well, and really, practically everything in the room was flying from the disturbance. How was they to hear anything that sounded like what they seek? Really, that James, clever as he is, can't seem to be logical when--

And there they heard it, not just Remus, for it was a little but obvious thud on the carpet near the opposite end of the room from where James stood-- Remus quite suspected the letters would all end up there after that gust of wind.

"What the--?" that certainly didn't sound like a letter should.

Nevertheless, everyone except Sirius moved to where the sound seemed to have come from and felt around. Remus felt the suspicious bump first and picked up what he thought was it, and blinked when James countered the spell on the letter as soon as he held it up. He bit back a comment on patience and putting more concern on a friend's safety than a-- possibly non-existent-- reply letter from a girl and noted with relief, and James' disappointment that it was his letter after all.

"Tough. Prongs." One could almost hear the grin in Sirius' voice.

"Sod off." was the growled response.

James and Peter got the same idea as Remus and continued searching the area of the room while Remus opened his letter.

And stared.

After some moments, he slowly refolded the letter and tipped the envelope to his palm. Out tumbled a small red-gold badge.

A low whistle jolted him out of his reverie. He looked at the source automatically.

Sirius was looking at him with an expression of surprise. "Well, now. For all the times you've been caught breaking the rules with us. You still get The Badge?" Remus had to smile at that. Sirius always says 'The Badge' as if it were a bad thing. And perhaps, to him, it was.

But not to Remus. No. In fact it reminded him of the day when his mother gathered him into her arms, overflowing with joy and gratitude.

"You're accepted, honey. You'll be attending Hogwarts.

Like everybody else."

Remus curled his hand over the little metal piece. He owed Dumbledore a lifetime of gratitude for his admission into Hogwarts. And now, this entrustment of responsibility? He didn't know what else he could offer the old wizard. All he knew was this strange pride of being trusted, being acknowledged. Not as a werewolf. But as a normal being, as who he is and what he can be.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and tried to regain his usual calm, for he knew Sirius was still watching him.

"--That's great." Remus tried not to look too shock at Sirius' words. "I mean, if you like being one at all." And here Remus could tell he was holding in his many scathing comments of what exactly he thought of Prefects as. "If-- you know. Dumbledore thinks you are a suitable one." Sirius almost cringed here, as if just realising that Remus, knowing his opinion of Prefects, could very well take it as an insult instead of what he actually meant.

But it was Remus. "Thank you." he smiled, warmly.

Sirius grinned back, then hollered, "Hey, we better watch ourselves now. We got a Prefect amongst us!" He made it sound as though they were facing a threat like a Muggle is to a Giant, but Remus decided not to take offence.

James looked up with disinterest, then turned back to the carpet. "My mom had been going on about how she'd love for me to be Prefect for weeks," a bark of a laugh, which James ignored and continued in a mockery of a feminine voice, "'but then again, with your friend Remus in Gryffindor too, you don't stand a chance do you?'"

Remus felt his grin widened, Mrs Potter was a nice lady. Well, alright, so most mothers tend to just adore him...

"That's so great! Only two fifth years of each House get selected! Wow, Remus!" Peter gushed excitedly, and Remus thanked him as well. And Peter would have gone on expounding the greatness of being a Prefect if James hadn't let out a cry.

"What is it?" Remus inquired, hoping it was a letter from Evans after all, if only so he could go off and write a letter to his parents in peace, like right now.

"The letter from Evans?" Peter added, being the only one who had total faith in James' words that he would get a letter from the redhead before school resumed.

James just looked dark for a moment, then pointed his wand at the envelope in his hand.

"_Incendio_!"

Well, now there wasn't any doubt to who the letter was addressed to.

"PRONGS!" A roar, and Sirius was pouncing on James. Peter swiftly backed away and looked at Remus expectantly. As Remus took a deep breath and swiftly calculated the best way to stop the two, he couldn't help but think wryly.

_Perhaps, I have these two to thank for my badge, after all._

-end-


End file.
